A stent is a medical device introduced into a body lumen. A stent is typically delivered in an unexpanded state to a desired location in a bodily lumen and then expanded by an internal radial force. Stents, grafts, stent-grafts, vena cava filters, expandable frameworks, and similar implantable medical devices, collectively referred to hereinafter as stents, are radially expandable endoprostheses, which are typically intravascular implants capable of being implanted transluminally.
Stents have previously been introduced into the trachea in order to address a variety of medical issues: to provide additional support to the trachea itself and/or the surrounding tissue following surgery, to prevent the airway from being constricted from tumor in growth, to alleviate stenosis, etc.
Tracheal stents face a unique environment of use, one in which the deployed stent must expand and contract during respiration and also be capable of providing support to the trachea.
When referring to tracheal stents, removability and flexibility are often the two things physicians speak about when referring to a great stent. Removability allows the physician the option to place a stent with confidence in treatable malignant conditions, as well as benign conditions, without the dangers of leaving an implant behind. Flexibility of a stent translates to comfort for a patient, e.g., a stent that does not force the lumen in to a straightened path offers reduced irritation. This disclosure will describe stents having geometries which exhibit both of these properties.